After becoming rich overnight, I handed over the system.

Chapter 443 The performance went smoothly

“This…” He looked up at Lin Xiu.

Lin Xiu avoided his gaze: "Don't overthink it, it's just that your voice is suitable for this part."

After rehearsals began, Cheng Yu'an discovered that Lin Xiu was just as strict with everyone else, but at least his criticism was constructive.

When Cheng Yu'an sang her solo part, Lin Xiu suddenly shouted, "No, that's not how it's done."

He walked up to Cheng Yu'an: "How did you feel during the auditions? That... feeling of giving it your all?"

Cheng Yu'an was stunned.

“You’re singing too cautiously right now,” Lin Xiu explained patiently, a rare occurrence for him. “This song needs a sense of fragmentation; it needs to let the audience hear your story.”

He paused, then said, "Just like you did that day."

Cheng Yu'an took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and imagined himself back at the audition site—his last chance, his last dream.

As the music started, he spoke again, his voice trembling slightly and filled with intense emotion.

The training room fell silent.

After he finished singing, Cheng Yu'an opened his eyes and found that his teammates were all looking at him.

“Wow,” one team member whispered, “this is simply…”

“Barely passing.” Lin Xiu interrupted him, but Cheng Yu’an clearly saw a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth. “Try again.”

On the day of the performance, the backstage area was a flurry of activity.

Cheng Yu'an, dressed in a blue and white performance outfit, was doing his final practice in front of the mirror. Lin Xiu walked over and tossed him a small box: "Put this on."

Inside the box is a pair of small in-ear monitors.

"This... must be very expensive?" Cheng Yu'an knew that trainees had to bring their own in-ear monitors, but he couldn't afford a professional one.

"It's rented," Lin Xiu said expressionlessly. "Remember to return it to me."

Cheng Yu'an put on his in-ear monitor and just then heard Lin Xiu's voice coming from inside: "Test."

He looked up in surprise and found that Lin Xiu had already walked away, but his voice came clearly: "Use this to communicate on stage later, don't mess it up."

When the host announced that Lin Xiu's team was on stage, the audience erupted in deafening screams—Lin Xiu's popularity was far ahead of the competition.

As the lights came on and the music began, Cheng Yu'an stood at the edge of the stage, his heart pounding.

"Don't be nervous," Lin Xiu's calm voice came through the in-ear monitor, "Just pretend it's only the five of us in the training room."

As the performance began, Cheng Yu'an was surprised to find that she remembered every single movement.

Lin Xiu's choreography was indeed more suitable for him, showcasing both skill and emotion.

When it was his turn to sing, all the lights went out, leaving only a spotlight shining on him.

"If you were fireworks on the sea..."

Cheng Yu'an closed his eyes and sang the voice from his soul.

In that instant, he was no longer that clumsy trainee, but a true performer.

A wave of singing gradually rose from the audience, enveloping him like a tide.

In the final climax, the harmony of the five singers blended perfectly.

Lin Xiu stood in the center, performed a beautiful somersault, and exchanged a knowing glance with Cheng Yu'an before pointing to the audience.

Fireworks exploded, the music stopped abruptly, and after a second of silence, thunderous applause erupted.

Backstage, the team members excitedly hugged each other.

Cheng Yu'an looked at Lin Xiu, who rarely showed a genuine smile: "Not bad, from Class C."

In the final scoring, Lin Xiu's team won with an overwhelming advantage.

Even more surprisingly, Cheng Yu'an received third place in individual votes, second only to Lin Xiu and another Class A contestant.

"Now, let's announce the special prize," PD Xu said with a smile, "Based on audience votes, trainee Cheng Yu'an will receive the solo part of the next round's theme song!"

Cheng Yu'an stood on the stage, the spotlight stinging his eyes.

The shouts of "Cheng Yu'an" rose and fell from the audience. He wondered in a daze, is all of this real?

Back in the dormitory, Cheng Yu'an found that his bed had been decorated—clearly the work of Li Zixuan and Zhang Shuo.

Lin Xiu leaned against the bed, playing on his phone, pretending not to notice anything.

"Thank you," Cheng Yu'an said softly.

Lin Xiu didn't even look up: "No need to thank me, you sang well yourself."

Cheng Yu'an smiled: "Thank you for lending me your in-ear monitor."

Lin Xiu then raised his head, and their eyes met, a silent understanding flowing in the air.

"Don't be too happy yet," Lin Xiu finally broke the silence, "I won't go easy on you in the next evaluation."

Cheng Yu'an nodded: "I don't know either."

Outside the window, starlight spilled onto the roof of the training base.

On this sleepless night, the two former rivals seemed to have found something more important than competition.

After winning the first performance, Cheng Yu'an's phone was temporarily returned by the production team.

The screen displayed 37 unread messages—congratulations from relatives back home, surprise from high school classmates, and a brief "Eat well" from her mother.

His fingertip hovered over his father's number, but he ultimately didn't dial it.

"Cheng Yu'an! Teacher Su Rui is looking for you!" a staff member called out outside the dormitory.

In the vocal training room, Su Rui was flipping through sheet music at the piano.

Seeing Cheng Yu'an enter, she smiled and waved, "Come on, try this."

It was a very difficult song that Cheng Yu'an had never seen before, with the continuous high notes in the chorus like a cliff lying across the score.

“I might not be able to sing that high note,” Cheng Yu’an said honestly.

Su Rui's fingers danced across the piano keys: "Your tone is very good, but your range is too narrow."

She played a high note, "Give it a try."

Cheng Yu'an took a deep breath, but his voice cracked at the crucial moment.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and tried again, but the result was even worse.

“It’s not about straining your throat,” Su Rui demonstrated, “it’s here.” She patted her abdomen, “The breath comes from the dantian, like a thread being thrown upwards.”

After two hours of training, Cheng Yu'an's T-shirt was soaked with sweat, but that damn high note was still like a wall that he couldn't break through.

Su Rui checked the time: "That's all for today, we'll continue tomorrow."

Cheng Yu'an stayed alone in the training room, trying out different techniques in front of the mirror over and over again.

The boy in the mirror had a ferocious face, with bulging veins on his neck, like a fish suffocating from lack of oxygen.

After his voice cracked again, he punched the wall in frustration.

"It sounds painful."

Cheng Yu'an turned around abruptly.

Lin Xiu leaned against the door frame, twirling a bottle of mineral water in his hand.

"What...what are you doing here?" Cheng Yu'an hurriedly wiped the sweat from his face.

Lin Xiu walked in and handed him the water: "Just passing by." He unscrewed his own bottle, took a sip, and said, "You're doing it the wrong way."

"Teacher Su taught me breath control..."

“It’s not a technical problem,” Lin Xiu interrupted him, “it’s your fear of high notes.” He put down the water bottle and suddenly roared, “Ah—!”

Cheng Yu'an took a step back in fright: "What are you doing?"

“Your turn,” Lin Xiu said calmly. “Call anyone you like.”

Cheng Yu'an hesitated, then said, "Ah..."